Thursday, March 10, 2011

New light stands and the money




The doorbell rang around 5:00 pm and I knew it was the UPS guy!
My load of stuff came from B&H today. For my friends who aren't familiar with B&H, it's like
the Amazon.com for cameras. They have everything. They have a gigantic store in NYC too.
That's like the Disney World for photographers.
Amongst all the things, probably my most anticipated item were the 3 Manfrotto light stands and Wescott reflector arm. I got the less cheaper ones, and they are so sturdy it's making me wonder if it was over kill. Mounted on the light stand is my LED mini light panel.
To be honest, I feel a bit intimidated by my own gear as I yet have figured out how to use the reflector arm (seems like I need to get some clamps). However, I truly anticipate these tools to help me expand my creative horizon. Next, I'm planning to get some strobes.
When I first thought about doing video a couple years ago, it came to my attention that I would need at least ten grand to get the bare minimum of equiptment. No way, I thought. And it made me very sad. So, I started looking for jobs that could pay. A couple years that include several unsatisfying jobs and lots of counseling, I am finding myself acquiring close to ten grand worth of gear which is really the bare minimum. My ten grand is coming from years of savings, years of tax returns, and some unemployment benefits that I'm getting from working on True Grit. Very little credit card debt.

If there is someone out there who is also thinking "no way" just because of money, I think I can tell you there is a way. It may not be immediate, but a way seemed to exist for me.


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